Kansas Tire Regulations

Tire Size, Thread Depth, Width and Snow Chains Regulations

Permissible upon any vehicle when required for safety because of snow, ice or other conditions tending to cause a vehicle to skid.

8-1742. Restrictions as to tire equipment.

(a) Every solid rubber tire on a vehicle shall have rubber on its entire traction surface at least one inch thick above the edge of the flange of the entire periphery.

(b) No person shall operate or move on any highway any motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer having any metal tire in contact with the roadway.

(c) No tire on a vehicle moved on a highway shall have on its periphery any protuberance of any material other than rubber which projects beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tire, except that it shall be permissible to use:

1. Farm machinery with tires having protuberances which will not injure the highway;
2. tire chains of reasonable proportions upon any vehicle when required for safety because of snow, ice or other conditions tending to cause a vehicle to skid;
3. studded traction equipment upon any vehicle when required for safety because of snow, ice or other conditions tending to cause a vehicle to skid; or
4. pneumatic tires having metallic or nonmetallic studs designed to improve traction without materially injuring the surface of the highway. To qualify under paragraph (3) or (4), such tires or studded traction equipment shall be approved by the secretary of transportation by adoption of rules and regulations, and their use may be limited to certain months or types of vehicles by such rules and regulations.

(d) The secretary of transportation and local authorities in their respective jurisdictions may issue special permits authorizing the operation upon a highway of traction engines or tractors having movable tracks with transverse corrugations upon the periphery of such movable tracks or farm tractors or other farm machinery, the operation of which upon a highway would otherwise be prohibited under this section.

(e) It is unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles having one or more tires in an unsafe condition. A solid rubber tire is in an unsafe condition if it does not comply with the provisions of subsection (a). A pneumatic tire is in an unsafe condition if it has:

1. Any part of the ply or cord exposed;
2. any bump, bulge or separation;
3. a tread design depth of less than 1/16 inch measured in any two or more adjacent tread grooves, exclusive of tie bars, or, for those tires with tread wear indicators worn to the level of the tread wear indicators in any two tread grooves;
4. a marking “not for highway use” or “for racing purposes only” or “unsafe for highway use”;
5. tread of sidewall cracks, cuts or snags deep enough to expose the body cord;
6. been regrooved or recut below the original tread design depth, excepting special taxi tires which have extra under tread rubber and are identified as such; or
7. such other conditions as may be reasonably demonstrated to render it unsafe.

(f) The provisions of subsection (e) shall not apply to a vehicle or combination of vehicles being transported by a wrecker or tow truck, as defined in K.S.A. 66-1329, and amendments thereto.

(g) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a vehicle with a single tire on any hubs configured for a dual tire assembly. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply: (1) To any truck registered for a gross weight of 20,000 pounds or less; (2) to any vehicle or combination of vehicles operating with wide-base single tires, as defined in K.S.A. 8-1742b, and amendments thereto, on any hubs configured for a dual tire assembly; (3) to any single axle with hubs configured for a dual tire assembly when such single axle does not exceed 9,000 pounds and is a part of a triple-axle combination; or (4) in cases of emergency.

Source: http://www.kslegislature.org/li_2014/b2013_14/statute/008_000_0000_chapter/008_017_0000_article/008_017_0042_section/008_017_0042_k/